The Lady Milne Trophy - Lady Milne Cup See: The
Home International Series

The History of the Trophy The Lady Milne Trophy began life as an open English Ladies' Teams' Championship, organised by the National BGFridge Association in 1934.

The National Bridge Association was set up by Mr. Hubert Phillips, the editor of Bridge World (supported by Thomas de la Rue & co.) in competition with the first British Bridge League, organised by Mr. E. Manning Foster, editor of Bridge Magazine (supported by Waddington's). Both organisations' members were effectively the readers of the respective magazines. The BBL's Open and Ladies Championships were the Gold Cup and the Whitelaw Cup, and the NBA's rival parallel events were the Tollemache Cup and the Lady Milne. Lady Mile was herself the voluntary Assistant Secretary of the NBA.

In the years just before the war, the new BBL was set up along democratic lines, and Mr. Hubert Phillips helped set up, and was the first Chairman of the EBU which superseded the NBA. However, the old NBA events were taken over initially by the new BBL, and run as British Championships, open to all comers, during the immediate post-war years. Then in 1950 the Lady Milne Trophy was organised for the first time as a Home Unions representative event, but it was a requirement early on that the competing teams had won their own Union's Women's Teams Championship, rather than being selected.

The CBAI took part in the first International Lady Milne in 1950. It may well have been their only appearance to year 2000. Northern Ireland did not enter at all for the first few years. In 1951 and 1952, neither Irish Union played and in 1953, only England and Wales entered. These appear to be the only two teams to have ever been present.

Thanks to Mr. John Williams of the EBU for the above research and information.

In Addition: The Home International Series

This Bridge Event comprises the Camrose Trophy (Open Teams), The Lady Milne Trophy (Women's Teams), the Junior Camrose Trophy (Under 25s) and the Peggy Bayer Trophy (Under 20s). Participating NBO's are the English Bridge Union, the Northern Ireland Bridge Union, the Contract Bridge Association of Ireland, the Scottish Bridge Union and the Welsh Bridge Union. To participate in the Home International series each NBO is required to pay an entry fee to Bridge Great Britain at the start of the competition year. Each NBO may enter one team in each event. Each country entered must play against each other such country. Entry and subsequent refusal to play shall result in disqualification. If a team withdraws from any of the Home International Series it will not be replaced. Matches will be rescheduled appropriately. Each team may have up to six playing members, plus a non-playing captain.

Land CruiseIndividuals may apply to the ACBL for a sanction to run bridge games and award masterpoints in conjunction with a vacation program that may be held at one location or at various locations as the group travels.

Landy Convention or Landy Against No Trump
A conventional overcall of 2 Clubs after an opponent has opened a No Trump of different ranges in either the immediate seat or after two consecutive passes. The overcaller promises, per the original version as developed by Mr. Alvin Landy, a distributional pattern of at least 5-5 in both Major suits.

Landy Variant by Edwin KantarThis variant, devised by Mr. Edwin Kantar, employs an additional bid of 2 Diamonds and includes the double for penalty.

Landy Variant by Michel LebelThis variant, devised by Mr. Michel Lebe of France, employs an additional overcall of a double to show a two-suited holding, neither of which are specified.

Multi Landy Variation Against No Trump OpeningMulti-Landy is, in essence, a combination of conventional methods such as the Landy conventional method following an opening of No Trump by an opponent, the Muiderberg convention, and the Multi 2 which can basically be made on multiple hand patterns.

Revised Landy VariantThis is a variant of the original concept as devised by Mr. Alvin Landy. With the addition of a second, unemployed bid in the original version, the overcaller is able to show either both Major suits or both Minor suits. Included is also a variation of this variant, which reverses the meanings of both Minor suit bids.

1. the only remaining slam-try below the level of game, sometimes used to encourage a further slam try but unrelated to the holding in the suit bid;

2. also a cuebid directly below game level in the agreed suit as in the example: Opener: 1, Responder: 3, Opener: 4, Responder: 4. In this example, the opener squeezes in a cuebid of 4 Diamonds, which is the only possible cuebid short of game to show interest in slam, but not enough values to take the partnership to slam independently.

Bridge World Definition: Any time there is only one call that indicates slam interest or further slam interest without raising the partnership’s level of commitment, it is a Last Train slam-try, unrelated to the strain named (unless followed by an uninvited further action).

This particular designation is also employed to describe a certain sponsored bridge event, which qualifies the winner(s) to participate in other bridge events, for which they do not qualify owing to the lack of fulfilling, or being unable to satisfy, certain requirements.

The ABF Tournament Committee has recommended that the 2006 Playoff format be similar to the one used in 2004. Sixteen pairs will play a round robin scored as a Butler followed by a final. However, the major difference is the proposal below.

For the Open Playoff only, it is proposed to rank 14 nominations by Playoff Qualifying Points (PQP) in the usual manner. The last 2 places in the 16-pair field will be reserved for qualifiers from a "Last Train" event. Part of the rationale for this proposal is to provide an opportunity for players, otherwise ineligible for the Playoff, to try out for the 2006 Australian Open Team. The most common reasons for ineligibility would be

Pairs may board the "Last Train" even though they possess no PQPs. Entry to the "Last Train" event will be open, that is not restricted to players committed to participating in the 2006 Open Playoff.

Characteristics of this "Last Train" will include

1.

Held in conjunction with the Summer Festival on Thursday and Friday 12-13 January 2006.

2.

Commence after the PQP rankings are complete.

3.

Conclude before the closing date for nominations for the 2006 Open Playoff.

4.

Butler-style format, in principle, with exact detail of the movement and scoring dependent on the size of the field.

5.

Entries open to any pair and free of all restriction relating to PQPs.

6.

Pairs may enter the "Last Train" even though they have no intention of contending for the Playoff. (However, all pairs desiring to participate in the Playoff must complete a declaration of availability before the commencement of the "Last Train" advising the Convener of their contending or non-contending status.)

7.

A partnership qualifying on the "Last Train" has committed itself and must play in the 2006 Playoff in that partnership.

8.

Entry fee approximately $200 per player, no travel subsidy.

9.

Pairs that reach the 2006 Open Playoff via the "Last Train" are liable for the standard entry fee to the Playoff and can not expect to receive any travel subsidy for the Playoff.

Laugher
This designation dates back to the 15th century and it means 1. a person who laughs, or to produce the sound or appearance of laughter, which is a show of emotion as in mirth, joy, or even scorn.

A second definition of a laugher has been adopted by the bridge community and, as a colloquialism, means something, as a game, that is easily won or handled. The designation can also refer to a contest or competition in which one person or team easily overwhelms another; easy victory. The English phrase laugh up/in one's sleeve, which is an idiom, means to rejoice or exult in secret, as at another's error or defeat.

One example of its usage occurred in the article written by Mr. Walter Bingham and published in the magazine Sports Illustrated, February 19, 1975, Volume 42, Issue 6, when he writes the following: But, surprisingly, the U.S. team moved out in front of them in the first session, increasing its lead to 46 and then to 72 international match points by the time half the 96 boards had been played. A laugher.

Lavinthal SignalsThese suit preference signals were devised and developed by Mr. Hy Lavinthal, who was born in the year 1894 and died in the year 1972. The concept and the principle of such suit preference signals began to be employed as early as 1933.

Law of Total Tricks
This concept is the theory that on any given bridge deal the total number of trumps will be about equal to the total number of tricks. The total number of trumps is obtained by adding the longest trump fit of North/South to the longest trump fit of East/West. The total number of tricks is the sum of how many tricks North/South would take if they played in their best fit, added to how many East/West would take in their best fit. An Excerpt as published in The Bridge World Magazine - The Law of Total Tricks by Jean-Rene Vernes.

See: Law of Total Tricks by Jean-Rene Vernes. An Excerpt as published in The Bridge World Magazine

Laws of Contract Bridge
The Laws are designed to define correct procedure and to provide an adequate remedy
whenever a player accidentally, carelessly or inadvertently disturbs the proper course
of the game, or gains an unintentional but nevertheless unfair advantage. The Laws
of Contract Bridge do not deal with dishonorable practices, and are therefore do
not cover the same scope as the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge.

Laws of Duplicate Contract BridgeVersion 1987. The first Laws were published in 1928, and have been modified over the years to adapt to certain irregularities and unforeseen circumstances. Their purpose is the same as the Laws of Contract Bridge. The Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge are designed to define correct procedure, and to provide an adequate remedy when there is a departure from correct procedure.

The Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge, 1997 ("the 1997 Code") was approved by the World Bridge Federation and the European Bridge League in Montecatini Terme, Italy in June 1997 and formally promulgated by the World Bridge Federation in Hammamet, Tunisia in October 1997, immediately prior to the 1997 Bermuda Bowl and Venice Cup.

The 1997 Code supersedes the, previous, 1987 Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge. Each National Contract Bridge Organisation (NCBO) which is a member of the European Bridge League has discretion as to the effective date when the 1997 Code is introduced, but in any event it must not be later than the end of the 1997/98 Bridge Playing Season of that NCBO.

The Copyright of the 1997 Code in all non-English speaking countries in Europe (other than Spain and Portugal) is vested in the European Bridge League.

The Copyright in the area of the British Commonwealth past and present (other than the Western Hemisphere), the Continent of Africa, Spain, Portugal and all English speaking countries in the Eastern Hemisphere is vested in the Portland Club.

The Copyright in the Western Hemisphere and in the Republic of the Philippines is vested in the American Contract Bridge League.

Extracts from these Laws either verbatim or paraphrased are not permitted without the sanction of the Authority holding the Copyright.

Within those areas where the Copyright is vested in the European Bridge League, the League sanctions, without charge, the translation and verbatim reproduction of the 1997 Code both in written and electronic forms, provided the European Bridge League's Copyright is acknowledged.

European Bridge League
Montreux, Switzerland
October 1997

Laydown
Slang: to put the dummys cards on the table;
Slang: to play a high card with the assurance of winning that particular trick.

Lazard, Sidney H. Jr. Award for Sportsmanship
This award was established by Mr. Sidney Lazard in honor of his son, who died in 1999 after a year-long battle with cancer.

Lea Bidding SystemThe Lea bidding system is based on the 1965 privately published book, authored by Mr. Robert H. Lea of St. Paul, Minnesota, United States, entitled Bridge is Easy With The Lea System. The system is based on a strong, forcing 1 Club opening, which promises 12 plus high card points.

Lead
1. the first card played to a trick;
2. to play such a card.See Law 44:

LAW 44 - SEQUENCE AND PROCEDURE OF PLAY

A. Lead to a Trick

The player who leads to a trick may play any card in his hand (unless he is subject to restriction after an irregularity committed by his side).

B. Subsequent Plays to a Trick

After the lead, each other player in turn plays a card, and the four cards so played constitute a trick.

Lead Back
To return; play the same suit partner led previously, particularly when the earlier lead was the opening lead.

Lead Directing Bid
A bid that requests partner to make the opening lead in a particular suit.

Lead Directing Double
The employment of this double enables one partner, who is not on lead, to lead a certain and particular card against either a No Trump contract or a suit contract.

Lead Directing Raise
A method of suggesting and/or expressly desiring a lead when partners preemptive opening is doubled for takeout. The following illustration should clarify this feature:

North

East

South

West

2

Double

3

In this auction the bid by South, by partnership agreement, implies Spade support for partner and also at the same time the express lead of Diamonds if East becomes the declarer of the final contract. This application of a Lead Directing Raise is also employed in any unbid suit and operates in the same manner even if the preemptive opening is on the three level.

Leader
1. player who must lead or play the first card to a trick;
2. the opening leader

Lead Inhibiting Bid
A strategic or tactical bid, also in the area of a semi-psychic call, which is designed to prevent the opponents from leading a specific suit. The following examples may assist in clarifying this feature:

KQ7

KJ7

943

AQ84

In Standard American an opening bid of 1 would be considered the normal opening bid and the planned rebid would be 1 No Trump after a response by partner. However, an opening bid of 1 , which may be made according to the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge, may discourage the opponents from leading a Diamond against a possible No Trump contract, and would constitute a Lead Inhibiting Bid.

A second example is presented below:

K8753

86

AK7643

If the partner opens the auction with 1 , the partner holding the above would normally think of the possibility of slam. However, since the Diamonds are vulnerable to attack from the opponents, the partner may decide to employ the Lead Inhibiting Bid of 2 , in a Two over One partnership agreement showing game-forcing values, to deter the opponents from leading a Diamond.

Lead Out Of Turn
An irregularity in play when a player faces a card out of correct rotation. Refer to Law 54 for an opening lead out of turn. Refer to Law 55 if declarer leads out of turn. Refer to Law 56 for a lead out of turn by a defender.

LAW 54 - FACED OPENING LEAD OUT OF TURN

When an opening lead is faced out of turn, and offender's partner leads face down, the Director requires the face down lead to be retracted, and the following sections apply.

A. Declarer Spreads His Hand

After a faced opening lead out of turn, declarer may spread his hand; he becomes dummy, and dummy becomes declarer. If declarer begins to spread his hand, and in doing so exposes one or more cards, he must spread his entire hand.

B. Declarer Accepts Lead

When a defender faces the opening lead out of turn declarer may accept the irregular lead as provided in Law 53, and dummy is spread in accordance with Law 41.

1. Declarer Plays Second Card

The second card to the trick is played from declarer's hand.

2. Dummy Has Played Second Card

If declarer plays the second card to the trick from dummy, dummy's card may not be withdrawn except to correct a revoke.

C. Declarer Must Accept Lead

If declarer could have seen any of dummy's cards (except cards that dummy may have exposed during the auction and that were subject to Law 24), he must accept the lead.

D. Declarer Refuses Opening Lead

When declarer requires the defender to retract his faced opening lead out of turn, Law 56 applies.

LAW 55 - DECLARER'S LEAD OUT OF TURN

A. Declarer's Lead Accepted

If declarer has led out of turn from his or dummy's hand, either defender may accept the lead as provided in Law 53, or require its retraction (after misinformation, see Law 47E1).

B. Declarer Required to Retract Lead

1. Defender's Turn to Lead

If declarer has led from his or dummy's hand when it was a defender's turn to lead, and if either defender requires him to retract such lead, declarer restores the card led in error to the proper hand without penalty.

2. Lead in Declarer's Hand or Dummy's

If declarer has led from the wrong hand when it was his turn to lead from his hand or dummy's, and if either defender requires him to retract the lead, he withdraws the card led in error. He must lead from the correct hand.

C. Declarer Might Obtain Information

When declarer adopts a line of play that could have been based on information obtained through the infraction, the Director may award an adjusted score.

LAW 56 - DEFENDER'S LEAD OUT OF TURN

When declarer requires a defender to retract his faced lead out of turn, the card illegally led becomes a major penalty card, and Law 50D applies.

Lead Out Of The Wrong Hand
An incorrect lead by the declarer, leading incorrectly from his hand or from the dummy. See Law 55.

Leads - Opening Leads - Signaling - Discarding - LSDCompiled by Marilyn Hemenway, who wrote these articles for the ACBL Bulletin in 2004, and which address the different styles of Leads, Signals, and Discards for the bridge player. As stated, these features constitute that part of the game of bridge, that probably has the most potent mood-altering effect on my game these days, such as LSD. My plan is to take some of your valuable time and explain the way the defenders should play their cards. My goal is to improve your defense. This material is copyrighted and the link is - (was) to Unit 241 in Omaha, Nebraska. This material is also only archived and preserved on this site in .pdf file format for future reference.

Leads

BOSTON - The origin of this colloquial designation is unknown. Capital letters only. This is an abbreviation for "Bottom Of Something, Top Of Nothing", and refers to partnership lead agreements. Therefore a lead of a low card promises partner a useful honor in the suit led (or according to the designation: Bottom of Something). The lead, however, of a high or middle card informs the partner that there is no possibility of taking or winning a trick is present in the suit led (or according to the designation: Top Of Nothing). The lead of a high or middle card is therefore asking the partner to visualize the holdings from the auction, deduce which suit would be more helpful and switch to this suit after gaining the lead. This strategy is generally limited to the opening lead. However, some partnerships have adopted this practice for any suit switch after the first trick has been quitted.

Leads - Third and FifthAn opening lead method in which the third highest card is led from three or four cards, and the fifth highest card from a longer suit. This is a deviation from the times of Edmund Hoyle where it was tradition to lead the fourth-best from any suit.

These leads are used generally against suit contracts, although some partnerships play this method against No Trump contracts. The practical purpose is to assist the partner in counting the distribution of the individual suits. The guidelines are shown below:

If holding a sequence one will still lead the top of the sequence, otherwise:

1.

With an even number of cards lead highest card affordable telling partner you have a suit with 2, 4, or 6 cards (or it could be a singleton).

2.

With an odd number of cards lead the lowest card telling partner you have a suit with 1, 3 or 5 cards.

Therefore, employing the Third and Fifth Leads method are, the card to be led is expressed in bold in the following examples:

xx

xxx

xxxx

xxxxx

xxxxxx

AKx

109x

KQx

KJ10x

QJx

Q109x

KQ109

Lead Through
To lead through a particular opponent is to initiate the lead in the hand to the right of that opponent, forcing that opponent to play to the trick before the leaders partner plays to it.

Lead Through Strength
A principle of defensive card play; to play a suit when the honors lie to your left.

Lead Up To
To lead, in defense, with the object of enabling partners hand to win a possible trick because of weakness in the hand on the right of the leader.

Lead Up To Weakness
A principle of defensive card play; to play a suit when no honors lie to your right.

Leap
A bid missing several levels, generally to game or slam, either in support of partner or in a new suit. This bid usually suggests a final contract and invites partner to pass at his next opportunity.

Leaping MichaelsA version of Michaels Cuebids and which is employed only following a Weak Two bid in a Major suit opening by an opponent. Developed by Mr. Mark David Feldman of New York City, New York, United States.This is a method whereby the player makes a jump to four of a Minor suit over an opposing Major suit Weak Two bid, and sometimes preempts on the three level, to show a two-suiter.

Leave In
To pass partner's double; pass; fail to disturb the previous bid.

lebensohl ConventionThe concept behind lebensohl is the result, or the solution of the following difficulty in bidding after an immediate overcall once partner has opened the auction with 1 No Trump. The lebensohl convention allows the partnership to employ continuances in order to reach the best contract.

Lebensohl Over Reverse Bids
The origin of this method and partnership agreement is unknown, but it addresses a problem situation whenever the opener employs the reverse bid.

Lebhar Trophy
Donated by Mr. Bertram Lebhar Jr., (1907 - 1972), in 1948 in memory of his wife Evelyn for the NABC Mixed Team Championship. Mr. Bertam Lebhar, under the name of Bert Lee, had a national reputation as a sportscaster and later as a bridge player and administrator.This trophy replaced the Barclay Trophy.

Lebovic Asking Bid
A convention devised by Mr. Wolf Lebovic of Toronto, Canada and published by Mr. Sami Kehela. When two or three suits have been bid and a Minor suit has been agreed upon as trumps, a double jump in an unbid suit asks about controls in that suit. Depending on the bidding sequence, the responder to the Lebovic Asking Bid bids six of the agreed trump suit with a singleton in the asked suit. Holding a King-doubleton or longer, the responder bids 4 No Trump (any form of Blackwood). Holding the Ace and/or a void in the asked suit, the responder bids the asked suit. Holding none of the above, the responder bids the minimum in the agreed trump suit. The Lebovic Asking Bid gained some popularity, but was displaced by the Splinter bid.

Ledger
This is a designation for the Summary Sheet on which the results of each rubber are credited to the winner and debited against the losers, in rubber bridge and Chicago. The results are entered in hundreds of points, with 50 points ignored in England but counted as 100 in the United States. This designation can also be referred to as: 1. flogger in England, or 2. Back Score, or 3. and also Washing List, among other designations.

Left Hand Player
The player to the left of the declarer and/or the next player in rotation to play a card or to make a bid.

Lefty
A colloquial term referring to the Left Hand Player. Employed as a description together with righty to indicate the specific player.

Legal
To be in accordance with the laws. Applied to any call or play which is not in contravention to the mechanics of the game as set forth in the Laws.

Leg
Slang: game, such as having one leg, means being vulnerable.

Leghorn Diamond System - Leghorn Diamond Bidding System
Many bridge historians are of the belief that this bidding system is technically and/or fundamentally the Livorno System, but also very similar to the Roman System, developed by Mr. Benito Bianchi and Mr. Giuseppe Messina. Used successfully in many European Championships. Any additional information or contributions would be greatly appreciated.

Note: Mr. Charles H. Goren summarizes the Leghorn Diamond bidding system in the following manner: Leghorn is designed to add a further way to elicit information about both high-card strength and distribution, employing an artificial one-diamond opening, as well as an artificial one club. When the right hand comes along for the system, there is no doubt that it gleans information that no other method can provide with the same accuracy.

Note: In order to save and preserve this bit of bridge history for our visitors, this article has been archived in .pdf file format on this site for future reference.

Length
The number of cards held in a particular suit.

Length Points
A method of valuation points being awarded to long suits.

Leonard A. Helman PrizeIn 1999, Rabbi Leonard A. Helman, an American lawyer and prominent bridge enthusiast and philanthropist, donated US$5,000 to establish the Leonard A. Helman Prize which is awarded to the two youth players earning the most masterpoints in New Zealand Association events in a calendar year. No individual can win the Award more than once. The awards are presented at the National Bridge Congress in Hamilton during the first week of July each year. Rabbi Leonard A. Helman (born 1926 and died June 6, 2013) was a staunch supporter of youth bridge and created endowment funds in Australia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Poland and the United States.

Level Appropriate ValuesA designation to describe the requirements for one partner, but also applicable to both partners to fulfill in order to make a bid and/or a call on a certain level, generally pre-determined by the partnership agreement, but also by experience. An intended and obvious one level suit raise in competition to a level, which signals a sacrifice does not fall within these requirements, nor does a preemptive action one level over and above the parameters established by the partnership intended as a possible third and/or fourth seat sacrifice.

Leventritt Trophy
This trophy was for the Life Masters Pairs consolation event and was donated by Mr. Peter A. Leventritt of New York in 1950. It ceased to be contested in 1972 at the Summer NABC.

Levitinia, Irina - Website
Irina Levitina of Hackensack, New Jersey, US, is the only person in the world to win World Championships in both the sport of chess and the sport of bridge. She is the co-founder of the International Chess Academy in Teaneck, New Jersey, US. Irina Levitina's one of the most accomplished woman players from the days of the Soviet Union. Irina Levitina was a three-time USSR Women's Champion in 1971, 1979, and 1980, as well as winner of the Women's Olympiad in 1972 (scoring 5.5 out of 6), in 1974 (scoring 7.5 out of 9), and in 1984 (scoring 6.5 out of 11). Irina Levitina was given the rank of Woman's International Grand Master in 1976. A picture of her in 2007 is shown below;

Levy, Stephen Screenplay - Cards On The Table
A screenplay written by Mr. Steve Levy, bridge teacher and author. Nothing has been changed to the original manuscript, and is reproduced here with the specific permission of Mr. Steve Levy.

Liberty Double
The Liberty defense mechanism versus the Multi offensive mechanism is used when the opponents opening bid has multiple weak possibilities with no known suit. This defense mechanism is designed to increase the possibility of penalties while also providing, at the same time, some blocking bids. The main feature is that the Liberty Double is made directly over the Multi bid.

Liberty Double versus Multi
The origin of this defense method is unknown, but the concept could prove advantageous to bridge players. The Liberty defense method versus the Multi offensive method is employed when the opponents opening bid has multiple weak possibilities with no known suit.

Life MasterA member who has 300 or more masterpoints recorded by ACBL, of which 100 must be pigmented, with 50 silver, 25 gold, and 25 red or gold. A member who held no red masterpoints or fraction thereof prior to January 1, 1969, is required to possess at least 50 red and gold masterpoints, of which at least 25 must be gold. Any new member or player in an inactive status for six months or more after January 1, 1999 will be required to earn 50 black points to become a Life Master. See: Master Points Awards

For a list of the 2008 Grand Life Masters please visit the web page at ACBL. This list has only been archived and preserved on this site in .pdf file format for future reference.

Life Masters Pairs
This event is for the von Zedtwitz Cup. The von Zedtwitz Gold Cup is a six-session event with two qualifying, two semifinal and two final rounds is restricted to Life Masters. The cup was donated by Mr. Waldemar von Zedtwitz in 1930 and won by Mr. von Zedtwitz and Mr. Phillip Hal Sims that same year.

Life Master Men's PairsThis is a four-session event with two qualifying sessions and two final sessions and is restricted to Life Masters, which was once the highest rank in the ACBL and in many other NCBO's, and was introduced in 1936. This event was restricted to National Masters and players of higher rank before the year 1963. This event was a men's bridge event until 1990, in which year it became an open event.

Note: This bridge event is also known as the Nail Life Master Open Pairs, named for Mr. Robert (Bobby) Nail.

Life MemberThis designation applies to members who have joined ACBL prior to January 1, 1996 and who have achieved the rank fo Life Master. They are members for life unless they resign or their membership is revoked per established procedure. Life Members are not required to pay dues but are required to pay an annual service fee in order to maintain an active status and receive services from ACBL.

LHO
The abbreviation for Left Hand Opponent; the player to the left of one player.

Lift
Slang: to raise.

Light
1. lacking in values; minimum;
2. Slang: shy of the contract. For example: two light means down two;
3. based on relatively low requirements. Light openings require less strength than sound openings.

Lightner DoubleThe lightner double is a lead-directing double made by the defender not on lead of a slam contract, developed by the bridge pioneer Mr. Theodore A. Lightner in the year 1929.

Lilies
This term refers to the Spade suit, when it was scored at 9 points per trick, as it was in the early stages of the game of Bridge Whist. Also known as the Royal Spades.

Lillois Gerber / Lillois Blackwood / Lillois Ace-Asking ConventionThis variation was devised by Mr. Pierre Ghestem of France, a leading bridge personality and published author. This particular designation is possibly a French derivation of the town in France called Lille, where Mr. Pierre Ghestem was born. Although the Ask-Asking bid is the same as the Ask-Asking bid in the Gerber convention, the conventional method is also referred to sometimes as Blackwood and/or Ace-Asking. This variation of the original concept of the Gerber convention provides the partner with the information about the rank and the color of the Aces.

Limit
1. to define a hand within a minimum to maximum range through a call;
2. Slang: maximum potential
3. a bid which shows a maximum as well as a minimum range of values.

Limit Bid
A bid with a limited point count range, usually fewer than 4 points.

Limit Jump Raise
Originally a feature of the Acol and Kaplan-Sheinwold systems, but has become standard in American tournament play. A raise from 1 Spade to 3 Spades is non-forcing but strongly encouraging. This method was a feature in the original Culbertson system, but which remained unpopular until around 1948, when it was reintegrated for application also in the Minor suits.

Limit Jump Raise To Show A Singleton
This is a feature of the Walsh System, using an immediate jump raise of openers Major suit opening to show three or four trumps, and a singleton in one of the other three suits.

Limit Raise - Limit RaisesA different approach to supporting partner's bid suit. Below are several conventions, treatments and methods of responding to an opening.

Limit Responses
The combination of Limit Raises with limit responses in No Trump, which then become encouraging, but not forcing.

Limit Style
This particular term defines the bidding philosophy, that treats jump shifts in No Trump and also previously bid suits as only invitational, as opposed to one-round forcing.

For example: this action is one of the possible agreements regarding a response of either 2 No Trump or 3 No Trump to an uncontested opening of one of a suit by partner. In this auction, employing the limit style, then these two No Trump responses show 13-15 points or 16-18 points respectively.

Line
1. the portion of a scorecard that separates points that do and do not count towards game;
2.the general approach of the declarer or the defenders, as in a line of play or a line of defense;
3. in bridge used in the expressions: up the line or down the line.

Link
In a squeeze position, an entry in a suit that includes a menace.

Lionel ConventionIn May of the year 1993, Mr. Lionel Wright wrote Lionel In Action in the International Popular Bridge Monthly magazine. The idea behind the concept of Mr. Lionel Wright is that one should basically be competing primarily for the partscore against 1 No Trump, i.e. a shift of emphasis from active aggressiveness to frequent competition.

The Lisa Convention - Basic Lisa - Extended Lisa - Fourth Suit Forcing Lisa
This concept is a variation / extension of the Bart conventional method and was conceived and developed by Mr. Jamie Radcliffe and Mr. Pete Whipple. Their write-up was published in The Bridge World in October 2007, Volume 79, Number 1. The source for the information is a write-up and summary of Mr. Neil H. Timm and posted in Bridge News, to which a registration is required. This information is in a .pdf file format and will automatically be opened by your browser in a new window. This information is also only archived and preserved on this site for future reference.

Little Cassino or CasinoThe designation is used for the Deuce of Spades. Cassino, in Italy meaning a small, gaming house, is a game of cards, played by two or more persons, usually for twenty-one points. For some unknown reasons, the Little Cassino became known as the Deuce of Spades and the 10 of Diamonds became known as the Great Cassino.

Little Jack PointsThis is a designation used by Mr. Doug Bennion of Toronto, Canada, when evaluating his point count system, which appeared in a letter to the 2001 Bridge World magazine of September. More information can be found at: Kleinman Points.

Little Major System
An artificial system of bidding devised by Mr. Terence Reese and Mr. Jeremy Flint of London, England, in the early Sixties, and now obsolete. The opening bid of 1 Club shows a Heart suit and 1 Diamond shows a Spade suit. Strong hands are opened with 1 Heart, and a Minor suit hand with 1 Spade.

Little Roman Club System Opening Bids
These opening bids are also referred to as Arno. The bidding system (Italian: Fiori Romano) is an artificial bridge bidding system devised in the 1950s by Mr. Giorgio Belladonna and Mr. Walter Avarelli of Italy's Blue Team. They used it to win twelve World Bridge Federation World Teams Championships, three Olympiads and numerous European and National titles. A variant, Little Roman or Arno, was played by their Blue team mates Mr. Massimo D'Alelio and Mr. Camillo Pabis Ticci.

Little Slam
A small slam. The act of either bidding or fulfilling a contract on the Six Level.

Live
An auction, in which the opponents have not limited their values, and therefore typically more dangerous to enter than one where the strength and ranges of the opponents are known.

Livorno System
See: Leghorn Diamond

LMX
This is a conventional defense method to an opening bid on the three level, whereby a bid in the lower Minor (LM 3Diamonds over 3 Clubs and 4 Clubs over 3Diamonds/3Hearts/3Spades is employed as a takeout request immediately after the opening bid. A double (X) is used in the fourth seat. This particular defense method has lost much of its popularity and is presently rarely employed.

Local
The lowest tournament level.

Local Points
These are points issued by the Home Bridge Unions, such as the English Bridge Union and affiliated bodies, such as clubs and County Associations, for success in club sessions, county events, and certain tournaments. 100 Local Points are equivalent to one masterpoint.

Lock
1. Slang: usually refers to the certainty of a contract or a set of circumstances;
2. Slang: to place the lead irrevocably in the hand of a particular opponent.

Locked
Slang: to be restricted to or away from, such as locked in dummy meaning unable to get the lead out of dummy; locked out of dummy means unable to get the lead to dummy.

Logical System of Contract Bidding, The
This is a designation given to a bidding system, which was published by Mr. Victor Whiting Porter, in the year 1938 in his publication titled The Logical System of Contract Bidding, published by The Logical Publishing Company in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, Library of Congress code LC: 38018401. Any additional information would be greatly appreciated.

LoHi / LoHiNo (LoHiBoth) Principle - This is a .pdf file format. LoHi and LoHiNo are acronyms for Lowest/Highest and ../None. It is used when the captain asks for a feature and is employed especially in the Ekrens bidding system.

Low-HighIn many partnership agreements and employing certain carding systems a low-high signal shows an odd number of cards in that particular suit and a high-low signal shows an even number of cards in that particular suit. This is agreed upon to show count. See also: Norwegian and Swedish.

LOL1. Slang: an abbreviation used to describe a Little Ol' Lady;
2. An abbreviation used with online bridge players, and which generally means Laughing Out Loud.

Note: As with all abbreviations bridge players devise new phrases, especially in the age of the cyberspace and the digital world. Other possible suggestions for LOL follow, and if any visitor would like to contribute his or her own translation, then any contribution

Long
Having great length; having more cards of a suit than another hand.

Long Cards
The cards remaining in a suit after all the cards of the other players have been exhausted.

Long Hand
The hand of the partnership which has the greater length in the trump suit, or, in No Trump, the hand which has winners that are or may be established.

LongsideAn adjective to describe a partnership hand containing the most cards in a suit. This term is obsolete and the word itself is actually not to be found in any dictionary thus far researched. Therefore the origin is unknown. Source is a quiz in a magazine which included several bridge terms.

Long Suit
A suit in which four or more cards are located. In general, the term is used to describe a holding with an unusually long suit but few values, such as a holding ideal for a preemptive bid.

Long Suit Trial BidLong Suit Trials - Help Suit Game Try - Short Suit Trials - Weak Suit Game Tries - Counter Trial are all designations, which describe the same concept. This bidding method, used after a Major suit opening, is very useful if the responder shows immediate support to determine whether the partnership should be in partscore or in game. This concept was born by the idea that if both combined holdings contain two suit fits, then a game contract is a frequently feasible, probable, and viable option.

Long Trump
Any card of the trump suit remaining after all the other players cards of the suit have been played.

Loose Diamond
See: Short Diamond. This is an agreement, or arrangement by the partnership to open 1 Diamond without a genuine Diamond suit. This action is common with variations of the Precision systems.

Lorenzo TwoThe Lorenzo Two is the ultimate Weak Two bid. According to the partnership agreement, it is applicable only when the partnership is not vulnerable. The Lorenzo Two is a mandatory weak bid on the two level. It is a feature of the partnership agreement of the system, which was devised by and is played by Mr. Sjoert Brink and Mr. Erik Oltmans.

Loser
1. a trick that must be lost; a card that must be played to such a trick; a card that cannot under present circumstances win a trick if played.
2. a unit of negative hand valuation.

Loser On Loser
A card-play technique, usually for the declarer, that attempts to gain by playing two losing cards to the same trick.

Losers
A method of valuation for unbalanced hands used in the Roman and Romex Systems. Every missing Ace, King, or Queen is counted as a loser unless compensated through shortness. A doubleton King is one loser and a doubleton Queen equals two losers.

Lose The Lead
This is an action performed mainly by the declarer, which gives the lead to an opponent, whether by design, by force,or by accident.

Losing Trick Count
A method of hand valuation as set forth in the book The System the Experts Play, as portrayed by Mr. F. Dudley Courtenay in 1934. The general idea was that when a suit fit was discovered, the partnership added the number of worthless cards in the hand to the number of losers revealed by the partner’s bidding. The total was subtracted from the number 18, and the result would inform the partnership how many odd tricks the combined hands were likely to take.

Losing Trick Count SummaryThis is a short summary of the Losing Trick Count method. This is written in a .pdf file format, and, depending on your browser, will either be automatically opened by your browser or automatically downloaded to your computer and opened with Adobe Acrobat Reader.

L-System Bidding System
The L-System was devised by Mr. Hong Liu, of Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, for light to very light openings. Mr. Hong Liu is also the originator of the LH Green Card and also the LH Blue Card bidding systems.

Lou Herman TrophyThis trophy is awarded to the player with the best overall individual performance record at the American Contract Bridge League Fall North American Championships. Donated in 1951 by Sally Lipton, formerly Mrs. Lou Herman, of New York, in memory of her husband.

Louise Gooding
Every now and then, a bridge player has a miraculous hand, and does not know any method or treatment or convention which covers the information, which needs to be transmitted to the partner. Louise Gooding had such a hand, and the bidding was quite obvious. What was definitely unique about her holding were also the holdings of the other players at the table. The following hand was dealt, and sent to us on January 31, 1999, and we have enclosed the correspondence with her.

Love
The state of the game, in rubber bridge, where there is yet no score.

Love All
1. a term to describe that situation where neither side has made any score.
2. used in England at duplicate bridge to indicate that neither side is vulnerable.

LowA term to describe that a card does not possess any significant trick-taking ability.

Low Card
The term for a card, which is not an honor. Any card from the 2 to the 9 of any suit.

Low-High Signal
A method for defensive card play, meaning to play a relatively higher card than one already played in the same suit.

Low Reverse
This term, mainly used in England circles, refers to a rebid by the opener in a suit higher-ranking than the suit opened. This bid is normally forcing for one round if the response was at the one level, and forcing to game if the bid was at the two level. For a low reverse it is usual to have significantly better than a minimum opening, meaning at least five cards in the suit opened and at least four cards in the reversing suit. (Note: this action taken by the player has the same meaning as a reverse bid in the ACBL-governed countries.

The LUCK System
A Swedish version of the Acol system, developed mainly by Mr. Hans-Olof Hallén and Mr. Alvar Stenberg, who also have used is successfully for many decades.

L-System
A bidding System devised by Mr. Hong Liu, which endorses the idea of light to very light opening bids. The lack of artificial conventions and treatments is one feature of this bidding system.

Lurk1. A term, which means to pass over right-hand opponent's opening bid;
2. In computer interactive online games, a term to designate the action of a player, who has not become active as a player, but rather waits for a certain table or players or a particular event to open and/or to begin.

Note: the term in the English-governed bridge community refers to passing or bidding cautiously early in the auction in the hope that the opponents will bid too high or double you in a making contract.

Lurker
A term to describe the player, who passes over right-hand opponent's opening bid.